Dragons beat Lansing; tie record

Dayton, OH - Billy Hamilton stole three bases including his 100th of the season as the Dayton Dragons defeated the Lansing Lugnuts 4-2 on Saturday night before a crowd of 7,932 at Fifth Third Field. The win improved the Dragons to 82-56 on the season, tying the club record for most victories.

Hamilton became just the 12th player in recorded Minor League Baseball history to steal 100 bases in a season. He broke the Cincinnati Reds all-time organizational record, surpassing Ramon Sambo’s 98 with the Cedar Rapids Reds in 1988. Hamilton is the first player to steal 100 bases in a season since 2001 when Chris Morris of Peoria stole a Midwest League record 111.

The Dragons, who are 22-6 over their last 28 games, improved their second half record to 47-21, the best in the minors among the seven full-season leagues that play a split-season format.

The Dragons took the lead in typical 2011 Dragons style in the first inning when Hamilton doubled to left, stole third on the first pitch, and scored on the same play when the catcher’s throw bounced away to make it 1-0. They added two more runs in the fourth, getting a pair of singles in the inning from David Vidal and Frank Pfister and then taking advantage of wild pitch and a Lansing error to make it 3-0.

In the fifth, Hamilton brought the crowd to its feet. He singled to right field to start the inning, stole second, and stole third to reach the 100 steal mark, prompting an emotional standing ovation from the fans after an announcement was made. Hamilton then scored on Brandon Dailey’s groundout to shortstop to make it 4-0. Lansing scored single runs in the sixth and eighth innings to close out the scoring.

Dragons starting pitcher Stalin Gerson (6-2) earned the win with five shutout innings. Pat Doyle earned his second save by striking out the side in the ninth.

The Dragons finished with seven hits. Hamilton and Pfister each had two.

Dragons pitchers struck out 12 batters, leaving them three short of the all-time Midwest League record for a full-season.

The Dragons host the Lugnuts in game two of the three-game series on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. (WONE 980 AM). Kyle Lotzkar (3-1, 4.09) will start for Dayton. The Dragons host the Lugnuts Monday at 2:00 p.m. to wrap up the regular season. The Dragons then open the playoffs on Wednesday, September 7 against Lansing in Dayton.